the matthew Z project

bubbler shot glass with scarf

Bubbler Tuesday.  Ah, say it with me.  Bubbler. Tuesday.  What, you say, is Bubbler Tuesday?  Bubbler Tuesday is a Tuesday; nonethesame as any other Tuesday save for it has a flared kick-ass ending to it.  Most start as any other day really.  You wake up, yawn, and then realize today is BUBBLER TUESDAY!  Then back to reality, you still have the long day ahead of you before you can even attempt to start the festivites.  Now, to some, this may thwart any possibility that the day could be good because you have to wait until after work hours to enjoy the celebration that will unleash. To others, like myself, it’s the fuel that drives me to make Tuesday great.  The illusion that nothing today will eff with me.  A reason to look at the grandieur of what tomorrow will lack in comparison to tonight. For today, will be another Bubbler Tuesday! But WHAT is it?  Simply put, it’s a celebration of me.  Not ME as in me, but to whomever is celebrating.  That ‘me’. 

It’s a get together of friends, co-workers, children, and families alike.  We congregate as if going on a shopping trip to a candy store.  The enthusiasm mounts all day until it’s time to go!  Count downs have even been witnessed. You show up at the location, which changes weekly.  Sometimes there is pizza to eat, sometimes a potluck. Other times, perhaps only snacks.  It just depends.  Greetings ensue.  Handshakes flurry, hugs give way to the break off into segmented clicks of happiness.  The women tend to assist the children on the paths of righteous clothes shedding at speeds that would challenge any racer of any kind, as they make ready the choas that will begin.  They make sure the places are ready for the blitz of traffic that will become about as normal as ordering off the dollar menu at your favorite fast food joint.  The kids, after their warmups, are set to play.  They begin a migration to happytown.  They move about the party almost unknown to most partygoers.  Except the occassional scream of ‘That’s mine!’, or just the high pitched yalp of kids in utter excitement, to have so many other kids to play with, they too enjoy this day as much as the adults.  This gives way to sounds that mimic what you would hear at a circus, or carnival. Mostly pleasant.  The men.  Well the men Read more…

fatgate 2010

I’ll admit, when I first heard this story I was sucked in and like, “WTF?”.  But then I thought.  Staged. At first glance, there wouldn’t seem to be a lot of obvious upsides to Kevin Smith’s getting ejected from a Southwest Airlines flight for being too overweight. Even if the director ranks very high among Twitter’s hottest topics currently, significantly increasing the number of media mentions for his new action-comedy, “Cop Out,” which hits theaters on Feb. 26.

However, while the incident — and Smith’s ensuing Tweetathon about the ordeal, dubbed “Fatgate” —  continues to generate headlines worldwide, it isn’t the first time the “Mallrats” and “Clerks” writer-director has suffered a shameful, weight-related embarrassment just days before theatrically releasing a new movie.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Remember that in 2008, just before the roll-out of his poor-performing, sorry attempt of a romantic comedy “Zach and Miri Make a Porno,” Smith suffered a similar disgrace: He admitted that his self-described “morbid obesity” had been responsible for the destruction of a household appliance.  And then, as now, he milked that episode for all it was worth on his blog, in tweets, and in interviews.

He told The Times, “I broke a toilet.  That’s how heavy I am. I can’t take all the credit. That was an old toilet and a very water-logged wall. But still, there’s no excuses, dude. I cannot cognitively reframe it and be like, ‘It wasn’t me. It was the toilet.’ It was definitely me! And that’s a wake-up call.”

Asked why he would volunteer such a potentially embarrassing story about himself, Smith demurred. “It’s a good story,” he said. “It’s tough not to tell even though I’m the fat clown at the center of it. Putting it out there is saying, ‘I get it. I understand.’ ” To me this is a sad way to gain publicity.  If you have to do this much to get attention to a movie, is it really worth seeing it?

Personally Read more…

inspiration

It isn’t often I watch movies, nonetheless actually take away anything from them.  But this week I’ve done both!  I have the knot in the stomach, hard to swallow feeling in the back of my throat just before you well up and tear, and the overall anxious feeling you get when passing a bad accident.  I have these feelings after watching “Yes Man” starring Jim Carrey and “Seven Pounds” starring Will Smith.  Although completely different genre films they share one very striking similarity.  They offer the possibility that if you wanted to, you can make a HUGE difference to people. Now I know what you’re thinking.  What can you possibly take away from a Jim Carrey movie?  Well, a lot really.  Or what movie Will Smith is in nowadays isn’t good?  Touché.  At least hear me out.

With most movies being released today having either terrible or hard to follow plots, or worse yet…NO PLOT. These two films offer inspiration.  One using comedy and romance to lead the way and the other using tragedy as a path forward.  Without giving the movies away I’ll offer what these movies have that make me want to be better!  Better at life, being a friend, and better to other people. Read more…